Use an exfoliating scrub on your face 2-3 times per week. It removes dead skin cells from your pores and keeps your skin extra smooth. Regardless of what cosmetic products you plan to use, removing the dirt, oil, and impurities from your skin is the first step of applying makeup. Washing your face before putting on makeup makes your skin smoother and helps the makeup apply evenly.
Toner helps seal your pores and hydrate and refresh your skin.
If you have sensitive skin, try a fragrance- and paraben-free moisturizer. People with normal or combination skin can use any type of moisturizer. Moisturizer softens and brightens the skin, makes foundation application easier, and helps your makeup stay on longer.
Look for hydrating primers for dry skin or mattifying primers for oily skin. Water-based primers will moisturize your skin but don’t give you the skin-smoothing effects of silicone-based products.
Correct light redness with green. Fix stubborn redness or rosiness with yellow. Use yellow or peach to correct brownish dark circles. Correct sallow or yellow areas with lavender. Use salmon (fair complexion), peach (light complexion), orange (medium complexion), or red (dark complexion) to fix dark undereye circles.
If you’d rather not use your fingers, use a concealer brush or beauty sponge instead. Applying cream or liquid concealers after a powder base might alter the coverage of your foundation.
A denser brush puts on a slightly thicker layer of powder, which makes its pigments and coverage stronger.
Examine other areas like your jawline or chin. If they have lots of concealer or color-corrector on them, dab a few foundation dots there, too. When the foundation dots are even, your final finish will be smooth and not cakey.
Let the brush do most of the work for you—just keep gently swirling the bristles over your face until the foundation is fully blended. If you need a little extra coverage in one spot, tap the brush into your skin to shake some more powder loose, then swirl it into your skin with your brush. The end result should look (and feel) seamless. Imagine the powder melting into your skin rather than sitting on top.
Use the same sponge to blend all of your cream makeup products or apply loose powder, too.
If you’re applying lip color, you can even use liquid foundation on your lips, too. The “bouncing” motion of the sponge is called stippling. As a general rule, you want to have more makeup near the center of your face than around the edges.
If your foundation already covered your blemishes and evened out your complexion, you probably don’t need to add much (if any) concealer. Adding lots of concealer under your liquid foundation might make your final complexion look cakey (that’s why we lay down the foundation first).
If you end up with a shade that’s a bit too light for your complexion, apply bronzer to warm up your face. If you have a warm complexion, opt for a foundation with yellow undertones. If you have a cool complexion, look for products with pink undertones. Go one shade darker in the summer when your skin warms up from being outdoors in sunlight.
If you have oily skin, opt for a foundation with a matte finish. A dewy finish on oily skin tends to look too bright and shiny. If you have normal or dry skin, choose a moisture-rich foundation with a dewy finish to hydrate your skin. For combination or mature skin, use foundation with a satin formula finish. It has more dimension than dewy or matte and can hide unevenness.
If you find your light or medium coverage foundation isn’t heavy enough, apply multiple layers to build it up. If you’re not sure what kind of coverage you need, go for a sheer foundation to start.
Powder is best for young, oily, or sensitive skin and those who sweat often. Liquid works great for older, drier, sun-sensitive, or acne-prone skin. It’s also more effective at masking wrinkles and deep lines. Feel free to mix powder and liquid foundations. Some people put on a liquid base and touch up shiny spots that need more coverage with powder.
